30 May 2012 07:00
30 May 2012
Wolf Minerals Limited
("Wolf" or "the Company")(ASX: WLF AIM: WLFE)
Investor Update
ISSUE 10: May 2012
Welcome to the second issue of the Wolf Minerals Investor Update for 2012.
This issue coincides with a significant period of advancement for Wolf on the funding of our Hemerdon tungsten and tin project.
In the last Investor Update we brought you news that Wolf had successfully mandated a group of leading mining project financiers to provide GBP£55 million in senior debt finance for the project. Since then, we have reported to the market that credit approval for this funding has been granted.
More recently, In April, the Company made another significant step forward in its project financing initiatives, with the signing of an offtake agreement for the tungsten production from the Hemerdon project, which includes a £20 million loan facility. This funding will form part of the total project funding package required to take the project into production.
The offtake agreement is with leading global tungsten end-user groups; Wolfram Bergbau und Hutten AG, Austria (WBH) and Global Tungsten & Powders Corp, Pennsylvania, USA (GTP). We view their decision to enter into an agreement with Wolf as a further strong validation of the Company and the world class credentials of the Hemerdon project.
At the project we continue to make progress on activities, all geared towards taking Hemerdon closer to production.
Construction of the project's Link Road is now underway and is scheduled to be completed in July this year. Also, tender documents have been issued to international engineering contractors to competitively bid for an EPC contract for Hemerdon's processing plant and associated infrastructure.
I trust you enjoy this Wolf Investor Update.
Humphrey Hale
Managing Director
OFFTAKE AND PROJECT FUNDING FOR HEMERDON TAKE SHAPE
In April, Wolf achieved another significant milestone in the development timeline for the Hemerdon tungsten and tin project, with the signing of an offtake agreement for the project's tungsten production.
Wolf signed a non-binding Heads of Terms for tungsten offtake from the project and a £20 million loan facility with Wolfram Bergbau und Hutten AG, Austria (WBH), and Global Tungsten & Powders Corp, Pennsylvania, USA (GTP).
The offtake agreements will cover 80% of Hemerdon's expected average annual tungsten concentrate output for a minimum of 5 years, and will be extendable by mutual consent.
Also, subject to technical and legal due-diligence and board approvals, WBH and GTP will provide a £20 million loan facility to Wolf. This will form part of the total funding package required to take the project into production, and is in addition to the £55 million in senior debt funding that was announced in March.
The offtake and loan facility agreements are part of a joint effort between WBH and GTP to support the development of Hemerdon as a new major tungsten mine.
WBH and GTP are two of the world's largest tungsten producers. Wolf is pleased to provide security of supply to these global specialty powder and metal manufacturers and looks forward to developing a strong ongoing relationship with them.
Wolf expects to complete the final documentation for the offtake agreements, in conjunction with documentation for the lending banks, by the end of June.
Under the agreement, Wolf is expected to supply a 65% tungsten trioxide, wolframite concentrate based on standard commercial terms. The Hemerdon mine is expected to produce an average of 345,000 metric tonne units of tungsten trioxide in concentrates per annum plus 450 tonnes of tin.
HEMERDON PROJECT UPDATE
Since the last Investor Update, Wolf has continued to make progress on activities at the project level at Hemerdon.
Construction at the project is now formally underway, with the commencement of construction of the project's Link Road. Construction is progressing well and the road is scheduled to be completed in July. The Link Road is a requirement of the project's planning permission. It will be a 600 metre public road, which is designed to remove a long-term constriction in the local traffic network.
Also, following a pre-qualification process, the Company has issued tender documents to a select group of international engineering contractors to competitively bid for an EPC contract to design, construct, and commission the processing plant and associated infrastructure for the Hemerdon project.
Submissions have now been received and are being evaluated.
CREDIT APPROVAL FOR GBP£55 MILLION PROJECT FINANCE
In March, Wolf secured credit approval for £55 million in senior debt finance to fund the development of the Hemerdon project.
The funding is from UniCredit Bank AG (UniCredit Corporate & Investment Banking), ING Bank N.V. and Caterpillar Finance SARL, who are all globally recognised leaders in mining project finance.
Credit approval is a significant milestone for the Company and is a strong endorsement of its confidence in the technical and financial strength of the project. The funding will support the planned construction of Hemerdon, based on the Definitive Feasibility Study completed in May 2011.
Provision of these senior debt facilities is now subject to completion of project finance documentation and conditions precedent customary for a financing of this nature.
For further details, please contact:
Wolf Minerals Limited Humphrey Hale | +61 8 6364 3776 |
Investec Mark Wellesley-Wood/Neil Elliot | +44 (0) 20 7071 4300
|
Newgate Threadneedle Josh Royston/Beth Harris | +44 (0) 20 7653 9850 |
Notes to Editors
The Hemerdon Project is one of the largest tungsten and tin resources in the western world. It is Wolf Minerals' core project and the Company is focused on developing the project into a large scale, open pit mining operation.
The Company released a positive Definitive Feasibility Study for the Hemerdon project in May 2011, and is moving forward to complete the funding for the project.
Wolf has received credit approval for £55 million in senior debt finance for the development of the project, and has also agreed the terms of an offtake agreement for the project's tungsten production, which includes an additional £20 million in project finance.
Production at Hemerdon will position Wolf as a world class tungsten and tin producer. The project has updated planning permission for mining until 2021.
The British Geological Survey ranks the Hemerdon project as the fourth largest tungsten deposit in the world, in terms of contained tungsten metal, and says that the project has the potential to be a major new global-scale mine.
Tungsten, which is the main commodity at the Hemerdon project, has been identified by the EU as one of 14 'critical' minerals.